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The world's smallest chameleon, tiny enough to perch on the tip of a match, has been discovered in Madagascar.

The Brookesia micra is 24 millimetres long, including its tail, making it one of the smallest known reptiles on the planet.

German and American researchers discovered the Brookesia micra along with three other species of dwarf chameleons in the northern region of the African island country known for its diverse animal life, which includes many of the world's tiniest creatures.

"It is not accidental that the smallest species of a given taxonomic group often occur on islands," said Frank Glaw, of the Zoologische Staatssammung in Munich, Germany. "It is a typical and well-known phenomenon."

Dwarf frogs, dwarf lemurs and dwarf chameleons are among the many miniaturized species that live in Madagascar.

The other two chameleons discovered are the Brookesia desperata and the Brookesia tristis.

"The tiny new chameleons show remarkable genetic divergences between species, although superficially they closely resemble each other. This indicates that they separated from each other millions of years ago — even earlier than many other chameleon species," said Miguel Vences, of the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany.

"The genus Brookesia is the most basal group within chameleons," added Ted Townsend of San Diego State University, who carried out the genetic studies on the animals. "This suggests that chameleons might have evolved in Madagascar from small and inconspicuous ancestors, quite unlike the larger and more colourful chameleons most familiar to us today."

They may be cute, but there's a serious downside to being so small. Their habitat is a few square kilometres in an area that, while protected, is subject to frequent illegal logging.

"For this reason they might be especially sensitive to habitat destruction," said researcher Jorn Kohler.

Two of the three reptiles are named to reflect their tragic circumstances. Desperata means desperate and tristis means sad.